Everything You'd Expect
by PeachyKeen13
Summary: When Petunia kicks Lily out of the house, she stumbles her way to the first Wizard Property she can find - what she doesn't expect is to be stuck in the Potter house with the Marauders for three months. Been done a lot, but this is totally original! R&R!
1. PROLOGUE

Everything You'd Expect

Disclaimer: I solomney swear that I do not own;)

A/N: I'm sure that there are a million fics out there like this, but give this a try anyway:) Won't be updated a bunch, as I have about five other stories that require my attention, but I have recently become, like, OBSESSED with the Marauders and Lily/James, so I thought I'd give an actual story a whirl instead of sitting in front of my computer until three a.m. trying to find the perfect story:) So I hope that you enjoy:)

FULL SUMMARY: The four Marauders are at James's house for the Summer before seventh year:) What they don't expect is a certain house guest...one girl by the name of Lily Evans. Naturally, there are pranks, games, and maybe even a kiss or two:D

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><p>PROLOGUE<p>

"Alright, Padfoot. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare, of course!"

"I dare you to call Alice and profess your undying love for her."

"Aw, Prongs! Frank'll kill me!"

"I don't care! You're the one who picked "Dare" you bloody oaf. Just do it!"

"But it's three in the morning - she'll be asleep!"

"Wormtail, relax. If there's one thing we know about our darling friend Alice, it's that she was born to be an owl. She'll be up. Call her, Padfoot."

"Ugh. Fine...Hello? Alice? It's Sirius...Yes, good to hear from you too, and-"

"Get on with it!"

"Alice...I LOVE YOU! I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!"

"Yes! Hand over the ten galleons, Moony."

"No, Alice I-yes, I know about you and-no, I'm not playing any...no, how could you even-please, don't tell-Alice!"

James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew sat on the floor in James's room, snickering as Sirius was trying to evade Alice's wrath. They had been playing Truth or Dare for nearly three hours, and they weren't anywhere near bored yet.

"Nice guys." Sirius said, putting the phone down. "She absolutely loathes me now!"

"Aw, relax Padfoot." James laughed, messing up his already untidy black hair. "When school comes round in September, you can tell her that it was all for a prank."

"Yeah," Sirius mumbled. "_After_ she's hated my guts for three months."

"Were we not so far off?" Lupin asked skeptically. "Do you really have a _thing_ for Alice, Sirius?"

"Aw, shut up, Moony!" Sirius mumbled, throwing a pillow at his friend's head.

Lupin dodged it, and threw a pillow of his own at Sirius. In the end, all four Marauders got into an all-out pillow war, with James emerging victorious.

"Blimme, I didn't know you lot were so weak!" James laughed. "A bunch of _girls_ I'm associating myself with."

"Shup up, Prongs!" The other three said unanimously.

The Marauders were laughing so hard, they could barely hear it when a knock came at the door.

"Who's that?" Peter asked nervously.

"Dunno." James muttered. "Who comes round knocking on people's doors at three in the morning?"

"We would." Sirius snickered. "Member when we did that last summer, Prongs? Epic, that was!"

"Should we see who it is?" Lupin suggested.

The other three nodded silently, and ran downstairs to answer the Potter's front door.

It was Sirius who got there first. He flung the door open without so much as a look through the peephole, and stared into the tired looking face of Lily Evans.

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><p>What did you think? I know it was short, but it's only the Prologue;) It's not going to be along the same lines as another WONDERFUL fic that I've read &amp; favorited, so don't think that I'm stealing someone else's ideas - this is totally original, that other fic just gave me this idea:) Don't worry, but I hope that you liked this:) GO MARAUDERS!<p>

~PeachyKeen13


	2. CHAPTER ONE

Everything You'd Expect

Disclaimer: I solomney swear that I do not own;)

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I didn't expect ANY on the prologue;) Here's chapter 1!

FULL SUMMARY: The four Marauders are at James's house for the Summer before seventh year:) What they don't expect is a certain house guest...one girl by the name of Lily Evans. Naturally, there are pranks, games, and maybe even a kiss or two:D

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><p>CHAPTER ONE<p>

Lily hadn't done anything wrong; at least not in her eyes. It'd been six months since her parents died, and they'd left the house to Petunia. The reason for that Lily _still_ couldn't fathom; her older sister _despised _her, and Lily's parents should have guessed what Petunia would do the moment Lily came home from her sixth year at Hogwarts.

Lily hadn't even been in town for five minutes before Petunia shoved the suitcases in her face and said, "Out."

"What?" Lily asked, shoving her suitcases back through the door.

"Get out." Petunia repeated, glaring coldly at her sister.

"Why? This is my home just as much as it is yours!" Lily insisted. She tried to walk back through the door, but Petunia was blocking the way.

"No. Not according to their will, at least. This is _my_ house, freak! And it'll soon be mine and Vernon's." Petunia sneered.

Lily gaped at her sister in shock. "Are you _honestly_ trying to tell me that you're kicking me out of my own house so that your walrus of a boyfriend can move in?"

"Fiancee-to-be." Petunia corrected coldly. "And anyway, why do _you_ care? I'm sure that one of your freaky friends will take you in."

"But Tuni-"

"Don't 'Tuni' me! Get out, Lily! I'm kicking you out and _officially_ disowning you as a sister."

"Tuni, mum and dad wouldn't have wanted you to-" Lily tried, but Petunia cut her off.

"Don't you _dare_ use mum and dad against me! And _get out!_"

Lily grabbed her suitcases angrily, and Petunia shut the door in her face. Not knowing where else to go, Lily headed for the playground that had once been like a second home to her. She couldn't live there all summer, but it would be a good place to sit down and think of what to do next.

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><p>"Okay," Lily muttered absently to herself. The sun had been set for nearly an hour, and Lily was still at a loss of what to do. "I've got my wand, but if I use it, I could get kicked out of Hogwarts...that'd be bad. So, no magic. I could always try to Apparate, but I'm not seventeen yet, so that'd probably get me kicked out of Hogwarts, too. I could-"<p>

But Lily's absentminded speech was ineterupted by the sound of a bus. Lily was especially confused, since there was no road on which the bus could travel, but that didn't stop it from being there.

A young man stepped out of the now parked bus, and looked tiredly at Lily.

"Who are you? Why did you park on the sidewalk?" Lily asked, standing up from her position on the park's only semi-clean bench.

The man (or, rather, boy) pulled out a piece of parchment from his coat pocket, and read off:

"Welcome to the Knight bus for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Gregg and I will be your conductor for this evening."

"Where will you take me?" Lily asked, picking her two suitcases up from the ground and handing them to Gregg.

"Anywhere you want, love."

Lily stepped onto the unusually large bus (wow! Magic never ceased to amaze her) and sat down on a bed that was pushed up against a rail of sorts. She noticed with interest that she was the only one on the bus.

"Is there no one else onboard?" Lily asked Gregg, who took a seat next to her.

He shook his head. "First stop of the night, love." He grinned. "Now...where will we be taking you?"

Lily thought for a moment...she really didn't care. _Anywhere_ was better than going back to her old house.

"The nearest Wizard Property in the area." Lily said.

Gregg nodded, and gave instructions to the bus driver. Lily had expected the trip to take hours...so she was shocked to say the least when they parked in front of a house that was only minutes away.

"Here we are." Gregg said. "The Snape Household."

Lily cringed. "_Anywhere_ else but here." she said.

Gregg sighed, and gave the driver new instructions.

They were off.

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><p>Lily stood on the sidewalk. The trip had taken two hours...she looked up at the Wizarding home in awe. It was about four stories high and was painted Red and Gold. There were several oddities on the front lawn, but it was too dark for Lily to really notice what they were. The house was far cut off from anywhere else - the last property she'd seen had been an hour away, and she couldn't see anymore homes from where she stood. What she <em>did<em> see was an enormous football field of sorts behind the home. Or, that's what she assumed it was at first; Muggle habit. In reality, it was an enormous _Quidditch_ field, complete with hoops and all. There was a little shed next to the field, which Lily assumed held the brooms and such. The house looked Wizard-y enough, and she was sure that the family inside couldn't be too terribly awful if their home was painted in Gryffindor colors, but _still-_

Swallowing all of her pride, Lily marched up to the front door and knocked once.

Twice.

Three times.

Finally, she heard several pairs of feet running down some steps. A moment later, a _click!_ was heard, and the front door swung open to reveal the excited face of Sirius Black.

"_Sirius_?" Lily asked incredulously, oblvious to anyone else standing behind him. "_You_ live here?"

"Evans!" Sirius shouted happily. Then, he answered her question. "Nah, I don't live here, but I might as well; I'm here often enough."

"Who _does_ live here?" Lily asked, cringing. It could only be one of three...

"Why, Prongsie, of course!" Sirius shouted happily, moving aside so that Lily could see the other three Marauders staring at her with equal expressions of glee and shock.

_Of course_, Lily thought. _Just my luck to end up at the front door of James Bloody Potter._

"Evans! What are you doing here?" Remus asked, pulling Lily inside the house. Sirius grabbed her bags, and Peter shut the door.

"The Knight Bus brought me." Lily explained, once she regained her composure.

"You told them to bring you to _my_ house, Evans?" James smirked. "Always knew you'd come round."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I told them to bring me to the first Wizarding Property they could reach."

"And it was _here_?" Sirius asked, a gleam in his eye.

"No." Lily admitted. "They brought me to Snape's house first, but I told them to take me somewhere, _anywhere_ else."

"Hear that, Prongsie?" Sirius smirked. "She picked you over Snivelous."

"I should hope she'd choose me over that bloody git." James laughed. But he stopped laughing immeditely as soon as he caught the expression on Lily's face.

"Why so upset, Evans?" Sirius asked. "Thought you and Snivelly weren't even on speaking terms anymore."

"We're_ not_." Lily said, crossing her arms. "But that doesn't make it any nicer for you four to tease him."

"All right, all right." James laughed. "C'mon in, Evans. Make yourself at home."

"Shouldn't you ask your parents first?" Lily inquired. "And what makes you think I'll want to stay here, anyway?"

"You really think the Knight Bus is gonna come back for you?" Remus asked, taking one of Lily's bags.

"Yeah. Plus, you're in the safe hands of the _Marauders_." Sirius agreed, taking Lily's other suitcase.

"All Summer long." James laughed, leading Lily upstairs to his room.

"What are we doing in your room?" Lily asked, shooting daggers at James with her eyes and refusing to over-think what she'd have to endure over the next three months.

"We're finishing our game of Truth or Dare." James beamed. He plopped himself on the ground, and motioned for Lily to the same. Reluctantly - and mostly out of exhaustion - Lily obliged, and delicately sat on the ground next to James. Sirius and Remus put Lily's things in the corner of the room, and then they sat next to Lily. Peter was the last to join the loosely formed circle.

"And you're playing, Evans." Sirius chuckled evilly.

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><p>Was it alright? Meet expectations? More of an intro chapter than anything, but I still hope it was good:) Any truth or dare suggestions? I have a few ideas, but I need more if the next chapter is going to be as funny and amusing as I'd LIKE it to be...so please review! GO MARAUDERS!<p>

~PeachyKeen13


	3. CHAPTER TWO

Everything You'd Expect

Disclaimer: I solomnly swear that I do not own:)

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Here's the next chapter;)

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><p>"Alright Evans; Truth or Dare?" Sirius asked, taking a huge sip of Butterbeer.<p>

Lily sighed. "Must I?" She whined as she yawned.

"If you ever want to go to bed, you must." Lupin laughed.

"Alright. Truth." Lily mumbled, struggling to stay awake.

"Which of us do you think is hottest?" Sirius said.

Lily looked up in disbelief. "How cliche can you get?"

"What?" Sirius asked, looking disappointed.

"Anyone who'd watch this game would immedietly expect you to ask _that_." Lily sighed. "Then, they'd be expecting me to say 'Oh, James!' and we'd share a special, magical connection through unspoken feelings and whatnot. Cliche."

"You have unspoken feelings for me, Evans?" James smirked, looking eagerly at Lily.

Lily rolled her eyes. "But I'm going to switch things up a bit; if you're making me choose, I'd say...Sirius."

Sirius thrust his fist in the air for victory, and James said, "Wh-what?"

"Sorry James." Lily giggled, waking up a bit more. Laughing, Lupin handed her a mug of Butterbeer, and she downed it in one gulp. Then, she continued in an obviously fake lovestruck tone, "But Sirius's _lucious locks_ make your flimsy style look...almost pathetic."

"Ha!" Sirius laughed.

"You fancy Sirius?" Lupin asked Lily, raising his eyebrows.

"'Course not." Lily said, and Sirius's face instantly fell while James's lit up. "But he made me pick...okay, enough. James, Truth or Dare?"

James had a mischievious twinkle in his eyes as he answered, "Dare."

"I dare you to..." Lily thought for a moment, before retrieving a small vial from her robes (which she'd been wearing) and handing it to James.

"What?" James asked, taking the tiny vial.

"Drink it. That's your dare." Lily smirked.

"S'not gonna hurt me, is it?" James asked, and Lily thought that - for the first time in her life - she'd seen James Potter look _nervous_.

"'Course not." Lily said. "I'm not _that_ evil. Just drink it. Oh, and you can't look at me."

Reluctantly, James chugged the vial. He kept his eyes away from Lily (hard as that was to do) and looked at Sirius instead.

"What potion was that, Lily?" Remus asked.

As Lily was about to answer, James's outburst came.

"SIRIUS!" he shrieked, and Lily had to stifle giggles. "I LOVE YOU! I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!"

"Whoa, mate...what's with you?" Sirius asked, more than a little nervously.

"I LOVE YOU!" James said again, looking totally dead serious at Sirius (hee hee...finally, a Sirius/Serious joke!).

"Mate...c'mon, you're like a brother to me, y'know that...and...this is a love potion, isn't it?" Sirius looked angrily at Lily, who was now erupting into a crazed laughing fit.

"Please tell me you have the antidote." Remus said to Lily as he laughed.

"Nope." Lily giggled, shaking her head. "But it's not long lasting."

In the next minute, James literally slapped himself across the face, leaving a red handprint on his cheek. Then, he looked at Sirius (who was still cowering in fear on the floor) and said, "Padfoot! I can't even believe that I-"

"Not another word, mate. Please." Sirius said, sitting up again. "Let's just forget about it. Your turn."

Sighing, then glaring at Lily, then sighing again, James turned to Peter and said, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Peter said sheepishly.

"Who was your first kiss?" James asked eagerly, trying to forget about his little outburst towards Sirius.

"Um...um..." Peter shifted nervously, looking towards the ground. Then, he muttered, "Marlene."

"No, really. It's not 'Truth' if you don't answer honestly, Peter." Sirius laughed.

Peter looked up disdainfully and muttered, "I'm not joking."

"You kissed _Marlene?"_ James asked in disbelief, trying not to laugh.

"But she's so...so..._hot_." Sirius stuttered.

Peter shrugged. "She kissed me." Then, he turned to Sirius and said, "Truth or Dare?"

"Shuffle." Sirius said. The other Marauders sighed, and Lily just looked confused.

"What's a shuffle?" she whispered to James.

James sighed. "Each Marauder gets one shuffle. It starts the game back to the first person who did a Truth or Dare. That means it's your turn, Evans."

Lily sighed. "Alright...Remus, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Remus decided.

"Alright," Lily said, yawning. She was fast becoming very tired again. "Have you ever done anything illegal?"

Remus scooted around nervously, and Lily's eyes widened in shock. "You _have_?" she gasped.

"Alright, that's enough, now." Sirius said. "Moony, just ask another question."

"Do we have to?" Lily whined. "Haven't we played enough? Can't I go to bed? I've had a hard day."

James seemed to only just remember the day that his Lilyflower had been having, and he instantly felt bad, "Oh Merlin, Evans...I'm sorry. I'd nearly forgotten...alright guys, that's enough for tonight. We'll pick up with this tomorrow. I'll take Lily to her room."

"Thank you." Lily mouthed at him. She tried to stand up, but he legs felt like lead weights, and wouldn't move.

"D'you want some help?" James asked, offering his hand.

Lily almost didn't take it. Lily almost said, "I don't need help from _you_, Potter." Lily almost denied him. But she couldn't. She was still upset and exhausted and - though she would deny it later - she needed all the help she could get. She put her hand in James's - ignoring the little electric _zing!_ that went off at his touch - and allowed him to pull her up from the ground. Her mind was fast becoming unclear, and she had to struggle not to pass out. The edges of her vision was becoming blurry; the last thing she registered before completely losing consciousness were James's strong arms around her.

* * *

><p>James felt like jumping for joy!<p>

He was holding Evans; _the_ Lily Evans, in his arms!

Granted, she wasn't exactly conscious, but it was a start! And she'd taken his hand when he'd offered it...she didn't complete hate him! If she had, she would have said something like, _"I don't need help from _you_, Potter." _

But she hadn't said that!

James was carrying Lily up to the top floor to the guest room, their most comfortable one. He set Lily down gently on the bed, and covered her up with the soft white blanket. He'd asked Sirius, Remus, and Peter to carry up her bags behind him, so they would be up any minute...

James sighed happily as he stared at Lily; she'd be at his house for at least a little while, right? She'd think that the Potters' was better than the street curb...right? She wouldn't leave...would she?

"Mate, I can practically hear your thoughts." Sirius laughed/whispered as he entered Lily's room with her largest bag. "Stop worrying; it'll be fine."

"Evans is here; _all summer!_" James said happily, unable to keep it to himself any longer.

"And we're all very happy for you, Prongs." Remus laughed, rolling his eyes.

"But-but what if she won't stay?" Peter asked nervously. Sirius glared at him murderously, causing Peter to squeal like a girl and run behind Remus.

"_Wormtail!_" Sirius shrieked as loudly as he could without waking Lily up. "We _just_ calmed him down from those kinds of thoughts, you idiot! Now we'll _never_ hear the end of it!"

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><p><strong>What did you think? A bit short, I'm aware, but the <em>real<em> plot begins on the next day;) Reviews are appriciated & SUPER sorry for the wait!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	4. CHAPTER THREE

**Everything You'd Expect**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own;)**

**A/N: I am SOSOSOSOSO sorry for the wait! Don't hate me! My laptop broke D': This is my dad's computer, and I JUST got permission to use it:( I'll try to update again tomorrow night, too. And hey, if you're keeping up with ANY of my other stories, I'm trying to update them again tonight, too. And I think I'm going to start a new one as well;) So anywhoo, enjoy!**

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><p>CHAPTER THREE<p>

When Lily woke up the next morning, she had completely forgotten where she was and under what circumstances. All she knew was that it was too early to be time to get up, it was raining, and she was cozy.

In fact...well, she was a bit _too _cozy...the bed was too soft, too warm to be the one she slept in at home. The blankets were too thick, the matress was too soft, and the room itself smelled like pine..._definitely _not home.

And then she remembered -

_The Knight Bus. Black answering the door. Being forced into playing Truth or Dare. James carrying me upstairs. I'm at Potter's...Greeeeat._

Lily reluctantly sat up. She looked out the window - she must have been at least three stories up in Potter's house. The sky was a light grey (probably due to the rain) but it was, unfortunately, morning. Lily slowly crawled out of bed, and looked for her suitcase. When she located it under the room's small desk, she hauled it up onto the bed. She locked the door to make sure that no Peeping Toms (or Peeping Jameses or Peeping Siriuses) looked in on her while she was changing. When she was satisfied with the precautions, Lily unzipped her bag and threw on the first things she grabbed - a pair of jeans and a light green sweater.

When she was appropriately dressed, Lily ran a brush through her thick red hair. Her hair was naturally manageable, so it only took her the better part of five minutes to satisfied with her look. Lily grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste from her suitcase next, and crept into the tiny bathroom that was within the room as well. After doing a double-check to make sure her breath didn't smell worse than the bottom of Hagrid's feet (which a first year, who'd actually smelled them on a dare, told her smelled disgusting), she opened the door.

And when she did, three _thumps _were heard, and three boys were caught.

"And just what are you three doing?" Lily asked crossly, looking sternly at James, Sirius, and Peter - who had obviously been pressed up right against her door.

"Nothing." Peter said timidly, standing up quickly and running from the hallway.

James and Sirius, however, showed no shame.

"Morning, Evans!" Sirius said cheerfully. "How was your sleep?"

"You know Black, it's funny," Lily said. "I never pictured you a 'morning person'."

"Ah, alas, I am not!" Sirius said dramatically. "But Martha is making chocolate chip pancakes, and what can I say? My stomach is too important to be ignored, even at eight in the morning."

"Martha?" Lily asked.

"My mother." James said. "Actually, that's why we were up here at all - we wanted to see if you wanted any breakfast."

James looked so bloody innocent when he said it, Lily almost forgot that he'd been listening in on her while she got ready. She almost forgot that this was _Potter, _and she almost forgot that she didn't find it cute when _Potter _smiled timidly at her.

"Well, _James _wanted to see if you wanted any breakfast." Sirius corrected lightly. "Peter and I just wanted to spy on you."

Before Lily could say anything back to black, James whapped his best mate on the back of the head.

"Git." he muttered, and - before she even realized what she was doing - Lily giggled.

"Never thought I'd see the day!" Sirius said, sounding astonished. "_Evans _- _the _Lily Evans...just _laughed _at something James Potter said! Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have progress!"

"Shut up, Black." Lily and James said at exactly the same time. Of course, this only made Sirius laugh more.

'Made for each other.' Sirius mouthed. Just as James was about to throw a nasty Bat Bogey Hex at his best mate, Sirius interjected. "Ah, what's that? I smell...yes, I think I smell...FOOD! Later, lovebirds!" And with that, Sirius was gone.

"Just ignore him." James said. "He's an idiot."

"I've noticed." Lily chuckled. Then, she sobered up a bit and asked, "Do your parents know that I'm here? Are they okay with it?"

"My dad's away." James shrugged. "Ministry business. But I told my mum, and I don't think I've ever seen her _quite _so thrilled - she's always wanted another girl in the house, see, and as soon as I said the word 'Lily', she was completely okay with it."

Lily blushed, causing James to chuckle a bit.

"She's happy, don't worry. But I'd hurry down to the kitchen if I were you. My mum's an excellent cook, and unfortunately, pancakes are Padfoot's personal favorite. You'll be lucky to get a chocolate chip if you're not there before him." James laughed.

Lily nodded, and began to walk down the hallway...before she realized that she didn't have a clue as to where she was going.

James laughed - _again. _"C'mon, this way." he said. He offered Lily his hand, but she didn't take it. Even though she didn't _completely _loathe Potter at the moment (And how could she? He was letting her stay at his house), there was no need to get _too _friendly.

* * *

><p>"Oh, hello! You must be Lily! I'm James's mum, but you can just call me Martha! I've saved you some pancakes - with Sirius in the house, I was afraid you wouldn't get any, so I set these aside. I hope they're alright!"<p>

Lily found that Mrs. Potter - er, Martha - was very..._peppy _in the morning. She was grinning widely, exposing her very-white teeth. Martha didn't look too much like James - she had very dark red hair that was streaked with grey, and deep blue eyes. She looked like she was about fourty-five years of age. She was only about an inch or two taller than James, but she was very fit - according to Sirius, she'd been a Beater for the Holyhead Harpies at one point!

"Oh, c'mon Mrs. P - you know you love me!" Sirius said through a mouthful of pancake. Beside him, Peter laughed. And Remus - from behind his mug of coffee - rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Mrs. Po - Martha." Lily said genuinely, gratefully taking the plate of yummy-looking pancakes from James's mum's hands. She sat next to Remus at the kitchen table. In front of her was Sirius, who was sitting in between James and Peter, and at the head of the table was Martha. There was another seat at the extreme other end of the table, that Lily assumed was for James's father. She wondered if James's father would look more like him than his mother did, but then found herself questioning her sanity. Why did she care so much about Potter?

_It could be because you're staying at his house. _A voice said in the back of Lily's mind. _But that's just a theory._

"I must say, I'm looking forward to having you here, Lily." Martha said smiling. "It'll be nice to have another woman in the house - I mean, not that I don't _love _James and the boys, but it gets tiring picking dirty underwear out of the laundry so much, know what I mean?"

"OI!" Sirius shouted. "Martha, you've wounded me!"

And - for the second time that morning - James whacked Sirius in the back of the head.

Lily laughed - she had a feeling that herself and Mrs. Potter would get along wonderfully. "I know _exactly _what you mean, Martha. I go to school with James and _the boys _- I _know _how troublesome they can be."

"Flower!" Sirius whined. Then, he turned to James. "James, your girl is insulting us!"

"Sirius...have I ever expressed how fervently I believe that you're an idiotic git?" Remus asked, causing Lily to nearly choke on her orange juice she was laughing so hard.

Sirius eyed Lily and Moony before turning to James and saying with mock fear, "James, run! It's the attack of the nerds!"

"Sirius, _must _I hit you in the back of the head for the _third _time today?" James threatened.

"Oh, I'm so _scared, _Prongs." said Sirius as he rolled his eyes.

And - without warning - James hit Sirius in the back of the head _again_.

"Hey!" Sirius complained.

"Warned you." James shrugged, taking a sip of his juice.

Lily risked a glance at Martha to see what her reaction to the Marauder's antics was, and was quite surprised to see the older woman laughing. Lily realized that Martha _enjoyed _watching the Marauders banter. It made her _happy. _Even Lily had to admit that she didn't completely _hate _spending breakfast with the Marauders, but...well, ever since the end of sixth year (which was only last month), she had to admit to herself that she no longer _hated _Sirius, Peter, James, and Remus (though Lily had _never _disliked Remus - as a fellow prefect and bookworm, Lily couldn't help but befriend the young wizard). Lily had spend the better part of that month in denial - how could she possibly _not_ hate James Potter? He was arrogant, he was a bully, and he had cost her her best friend. But that's when the stupid voice in the back of Lily's head had intervened.

_Severus insulted you and became a Death Eater of his own accord, _the voice had said. _That wasn't James's fault. And he hasn't been as arrogant and cruel since he saw how much it upset you after the Defense OWLs in fifth year - don't deny that. Maybe James really _is _changing for you._

But Lily was getting off track. Breakfast had just ended - a house elf named Weena had taken the plates, and the boys were lounging back in their chairs, feet on the table. Martha lightly chastied them for their bad table manners, but Lily could sense that the woman was only joking. Lily wasn't really focusing on the conversation until Black asked her,

"Flower, you in?"

"Sorry?" Lily asked, crinkling her eyebrows in confusion. "In on what?"

"Distracted easily, are you?" Black asked, laughing. "_Tsk, tsk, tsk, _I dunno James...if you can't keep her attention, do you really want to-"

"Sirius!" James growled threatningly.

Sirius raised his hands in innocence. "Sorry, sorry...anyway Flower, we were just discussing playing a little game of Quidditch out back to kick off the Summer...hence I asked if you were in."

"Oh." Lily said, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach.

"So?" Sirius persisted. "In or not, Flower? Don't keep us waiting!"

"You don't have to play if you don't want to, Lily." James assured the red-headed witch. "It's just a little something we do to kick things off, you know? We've never had even teams, so you playing would definitely be more fun, but I don't want to-"

"James, just shut it." Sirius laughed. "You're rambling."

James blushed a bit, and Lily gasped. Had her eyes been decieving her, or had she really just seen James Potter _blush?_

"No, I'll play...it'll be...fun." but inside, Lily was cringing.

None of the Marauders had ever, ever, _ever _seen her on a broom. She wasn't worried about being made fun of, though; she knew she wouldn't be. No, Lily was more worried about _upstaging _them. And she didn't want to shatter the pretty little egos of the _Marauders _now, did she?

Of course she did!

Lily found that being at James's house (curse though it may be) was taking her mind off of Petunia and her parents and everything. It was making her feel _better _- it was _healing _her. And even if she wasn't _completely _warmed up to the idea yet, she knew that it wouldn't be the _worst _three months of her entire life.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I know it seems like Lily is jumping into liking the Marauders pretty quickly, but since she's staying with them, she doesn't have much of a choice. And I always read fics where Lily is an awful flyer - just thought I'd switch things up:) I know some people might have been OOC, but I hope that it didn't overpower the story:) Reviews are very appriciated and thank you for the patience!<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	5. CHAPTER FOUR

**Everything You'd Expect**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own(;**

**A/N: So sorry for the wait! But guess what? My birthday was yesterday and I got a new laptop! YAY! So enjoy this chapter:)**

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><p>CHAPTER FOUR<p>

"Alright, boys and Lily. Classic Quidditch rules. Now then," Martha smiled happily. "Mount your brooms."

"Think you'll be alright, Evans?" Sirius grinned evilly, mounting his broom and taking off. "Not too scared of the big bad Quidditch players?"

"Oh, Black," Lily laughed. "I think I'll be just fine."

"Never have seen you on a broom before, Lily." James smiled, following Sirius into the air. "Suppose there's a first for everything."

"Need any help, Lily?" Remus asked kindly, soaring into the air. Peter followed him, not saying a word.

Lily didn't say anything, either. Instead, she silently mounted her broom. She kicked off of the ground, and ascended into the air. She felt the wind blow through her hair, and soon, she was just as high up in the sky as the four Marauders and Martha.

"I think I'll be just fine." she repeated.

"Well, you can ascend on a broom," Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's a start. But can you play _Quidditch? _If she can't James, you might have to re-think loving her...how can you love someone who doesn't like _Quidditch?_"

"Shut up, Padfoot." James muttered.

"Awe, did I hurt wittle Jamesie-Wamsies's feelings?" Sirius grinned.

"We might be in the air, Sirius, but that doesn't mean that I can't still whap you upside the head." James threatened, giving the young wizard a hard, long, Marauder-death stare.

"Alright, alright..." Sirius muttered, throwing his hands into their air as though pleading innocence. "No need to get so bloody defensive."

"Alright, _girls," _Martha laughed. "Are we going to play Quidditch, or not?"

"Of course we are!" Sirius shouted. "As if that had _ever _been in question?"

"What're the teams?" Remus asked.

"How about...me, Lily, and you against James, Sirius, and Peter? Sound fair?" Martha asked, raising her eyebrows skeptically. Lily couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Sounds good, mum." James said. "I'll get the trunk."

James descended, and jumped off of his broom in one graceful, lithe movement. He ran into the nearby supplies shack, and returned with a trunk. The trunk, Lily assumed, that held the Quaffle, the Bludgers, and the Snitch.

"Lily, what position?" Martha asked quietly, forming a semi-circle which included herself, Remus, and Lily.

"Seeker." Lily said automatically.

"Are you sure you can go up against _James?_" Remus asked in disbelief.

"I can handle Potter." Lily assured the young werewolf.

"I can do Keeper," Martha said. "Being as there's only three of us, we'll have to give up one of the positions. Would you rather be Beater or Chaser, Remus?"

"Chaser, I think." Remus said after a moment of thinking. "I'm better at speed and agility than brute strength."

"Alright, then." Martha said. "Keep the bat anyway, in case you have to shoot the Quaffle in. We won't get points any other way."

"Unless I catch the Snitch," Lily said, grinning to herself.

"Lily," Remus chuckled approvingly. "I've never seen you so..._bold. _Unless you're insulting James, of course."

Lily laughed. "There's lots of things you don't know about me, Remus." _Like the fact that I'm one bloody good Quidditch player._

"Alright!" James shouted from his own team's semi-circle. "You lot ready?"

"Everyone ready?" Martha whispered. When Remus and Lily nodded, she shouted back to her son, "Release the Quaffle!"

James released the Quidditch balls, and the game began immedietly. James and Lily didn't have much to do until one of them saw the Snitch, so they settled for watching the rest of the game.

Siriur was playing Chaser and Beater. Peter was playing Keeper. Sirius took the small bat in hand, and whacked a Quaffle towards one of the three hoops that Martha was guarding. She blocked it more quickly than Lily ever thought she could have. Martha passed the Quaffle to Remus, who flew across the field with it as quickly as he could. He hurled it at the hoop furthest from Peter on that side, and made it. Ten Points to Lily's team.

Peter nervously batted the Quaffle to Sirius, who flew with a vengance. He _hurled _the Quaffle at Martha, and managed to beat it just over her head. It was now tied, 10-10.

That was when Lily spotted the Snitch.

It was just under her, slightly to the left. Lily descended as quickly as the borrowed broom would take her, and darted at the tiny golden ball. James saw when she dived, and went after her immedietly. He was shocked at how _fast _Lily was - if he wasn't careful, she'd beat him.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Lily asked. "Can't keep up?"

"In your dreams, Evans." James laughed. He sped up considerably, and him and Lily were neck and neck.

Lily pushed herself forward further. She _wouldn't _be beaten by Potter; she _refused _to be.

_"Jeez, Lils," _James thought. _"Where'd you learn to play Quidditch like this?"_

Meanwhile, the game above the duo had all but stopped. The other four players were frozen in mid-air, staring at James and Lily. But mostly at Lily. Martha was grinning at the young witch, proud that she could fly so well. Peter was trying to follow both of the flyers, but he couldn't keep up. Sirius was just floating there with his mouth hanging open. How was Prongs being beaten by a _girl? _And Remus was nearly as surprised as Sirius; Lily could _fly! _

"Sorry about this James," Lily laughed. She reached her arm out as far as she could, and grabbed the Snitch with her left hand.

James stared at her in shock.

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered, staring transfixed at Lily.

And Lily grinned even wider.

* * *

><p>"Certainly <em>was <em>an interesting day," Martha laughed later that night at dinner. They'd only _just _finished playing Quidditch; they'd played several games, Lily winning all but two. Needless to say, the boys were in a sort of transe; they had to know -

"Lily, _where _did you learn how to play Quidditch like that?" James asked. He'd hardly even touched his food; he was still sort of staring at Lily.

Lily smiled. "Good Quidditch players _never _reveal their secrets. Wasn't it _you _who told me that, James? Third year?"

"Women," Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes. "Never forget a thing, do they?"

Martha glared at Sirius, who shrunk back. "You know Sirius," she said. "My son isn't the only Potter who's skilled in the art of whapping you upside the head."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sirius mumbled, taking a bite of chicken from his third plate of food.

Lily smirked; she'd _never _heard Sirius Black call _anyone '_Ma'am_'._

Sirius looked up at Lily and said, "Awe, shut it Evans." Then, he turned to James and said, "I take it back, Prongs. She's more like you than I thought."

Before the teens could start bickering, Martha said, "So I was thinking we'd go into Scotland tomorrow; get a bit of shopping done."

Lily was obviously the only one who didn't get it, because all four of the Marauders had huge grins on their faces.

"What's in Scotland?" Lily asked carefully.

Before Martha could get a word in, the Marauders shot answers at her faster than bludgers.

"WHAT do you mean? You've never been there?"

"They've got the BEST Pub there, the Shrieking Cat, and it-"

"BEST Prank store on EARTH-"

"All sorts of shops-"

"The world's largest Owelry-"

"And a HUGE library!"

Everyone looked at Remus, the Marauders in disgust.

"A _library?_" Sirius asked. "Martha's taking us to the happiest place on _Earth, _and _you're _talking about a bloody _library?_"

"I thought the happiest place on Earth was Disney?" Lily asked. To her shock, she got five blank looks.

"What in Merlin's name is a 'Disney'?" Sirius asked, looking at Lily as though he was trying to see through her.

"It's a- oh, nevermind." Lily sighed, feeling a piece of her childhood being ruined. "Carry on, Black."

"Thank you Flower!" Sirius grinned. "Moony, it's not very Marauder-y to _want _to read."

"But then how would I be the brains behind the pranks if I was stupid?" Remus asked back.

"Good comeback," Lily muttered.

"Moony, we are _so _disappointed in you," James joked, shaking his head and crossing his arms.

"You've let us down so much," Peter said sadly.

"We didn't raise you like this, Remmykins." Sirius said, pretending to sob.

"Oh, SHUT IT!" Martha laughed. "Lily, if you've never been to Wizarding Scotland, then it's settled. We'll leave in the morning by Portkey. Everyone - *cough* boys *cough* - please _try _to at least get three hours of sleep."

"Not possible." James and Sirius mumbled at the same time.

Lily and Martha both rolled their eyes, and everyone headed up to bed (or in the Marauder's case, _not_) and Lily couldn't help but think,

"It's sad, really. If I'm with the Marauders, I probably _won't _get to see the library."

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><p><strong>Sorry it took so long to get this out! Please review - Reviews inspire me!(:<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	6. CHAPTER FIVE

**Everything You'd Expect**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear I do not own;)**

**A/N: Thank you all so very much for being patient! I apologize for the lateness of this chapter:/ But I hope that you enjoy it! And if you're checking out any of my other fics, I'll try to update them tonight, too:) **

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><p>"Lily. Lily? Lils? LILY!"<p>

Lily groggily woke up. She didn't want to move. She was so bloody _warm..._

"Evans, I'm not as nice as Jamesies. Get your arse out of bed _now!_"

"Shuddup, Black..." Lily mumbled, rolling over onto her back. She stared up at the four wizards staring back at her. James was sitting right next to her, but he was glaring up at Sirius. Sirius was standing at the foot of her bed, grinning widely. Remus was by the door, rolling his eyes at his friends' anitcs. And Peter was standing by the dark window...

Wait...the _dark _window?

"S'too early to be _up,_" Lily moaned. "I'm going back to sleep-"

"Evans, don't pull it." Black grinned. "You've no _idea _how many times I've said those words in my life. And normally, I'd let you sleep til you die. But - unfortunately - I'm making an exception. Scotland...remember?"

Lily sighed. How could she have forgotten? Today was the day that the Marauders and Martha were taking her on an adventure to a village in Wizarding Scotland. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess, and as she was surveying herself, she realized -

She'd only slept in boxer shorts and an over-sized shirt. And the blankets were now off of her.

Lily blushed, and forced the blankets up over her. James backed away with his hands in front of him, blushing as well. They were both very quiet -

And then there was Sirius.

"AH!" he laughed, his face completely red from having tried to hold in the laughter. "Oh, Evans, you crack me _up! _What, dressing up for Prongs, were we?"

"SHUT UP SIRIUS!" Lily and James shouted at the same time.

This didn't help to keep Sirius quiet. As he left the room, he mouthed 'Made for each other!' And made kissy noises. Remus ushered Black and Pettigrew out of the room, and winked at James as he shut the door.

"I'll just...go then." James said uncomfortably, getting up to leave. "I'm sorry about them."

"It's not _your _fault." Lily said. Then, she broke into a grin. "James, you look _petrified. _I'm not going to attack you - it's Sirius who should sleep with one eye open."

James allowed a little smile, said, "Thanks, Lils." and left the room.

Lily locked the door behind him, so as to make sure there weren't anymore 'unwelcome visitors'. She then put on her clothes for the day, and fixed her hair. She brushed her teeth and applied her makeup, but it was all auto-pilot. Truthfully, Lily wasn't fully awake. She was dead on her feet. She hadn't had much sleep the night before - she'd had awful nightmares about her parents.

When Lily was completely ready, she unlocked the door, surprised to find the hallway behind it completely empty. Lily ran up the stairs to the kitchen, to find the Marauders and Martha arguing.

"But Mum, _how _exactly did it _break_?" James complained loudly. Lily was surprised to hear Martha laugh.

"Oh, _relax, _James." she sniggered. "It's not _broken. _We're just out of Floo Powder."

"Get some more then!" Sirius said. "We can't miss out on Scotland! Evans has never eve-"

"She _does _have a first name, Sirius." Martha said sternly. "I'm sure that _Lily _doesn't appriciate always being referred to as her surname."

"Aw, she doesn't care!" Sirius said. "She calls me 'Black!' all the time!"

"Have you ever actually _asked _her what she prefers?" Martha asked, raising a light red eyebrow.

Sirius shifted behind the woman's glare, and went back to his original statement. "We _have _to go!"

"We won't miss out." Martha smiled. "Mrs. Wilson's husband is the Head of the Department of Muggle Artifacts. They've got a car that they're willing to let us use to get to Mr. Simmon's house. He's already said that we can use _his _Floo Powder."

"And have you _any _clue as to how to _drive, _Mum?" James asked, giving his mother a speculative glance.

Martha rolled her eyes. "No, James. None at all. I'm just going to crash us into a bloody _tree._"

Lily laughed from where she stood. So _that _was where James got all the sarcasm.

"Oh, Lily! We didn't hear you come in!" Martha smiled. "I know you're probably hungry, but we're going to have to wait until we get there. Did you hear what I said about the car?"

Lily stepped closer to the five people in the kitchen, and nodded in response to Martha's question.

"Excellent! Well, Mrs. Wilson left her car out back - we can leave now, if you're all ready?"

"LET'S GO!" Sirius shouted.

"Sirius!" Remus groaned. "Don't _shout!_"

"Merlin, what kind of Marauder _are _you, Moony?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes.

"A smart and sensible Marauder, thank you." Remus mumbled. Lily was confused; why was Remus so _snappy?_

"Awe, _someone's _in a bad mood." Sirius chuckled. "That time of the month again, Moony?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Remus retorted.

The other four brushed off what Remus had just said. But Lily thought over it. Wasn't it strange that Remus hadn't actually _denied _Sirius's question? But he was a boy...he didn't _have _a time of the month...unless they were talking about something _else._ Lily knew she'd have to ask James later - he wouldn't refuse to tell her _anything._

* * *

><p>They had been in the car all of five minutes, and Lily was already <em>out. <em>Remus was in the passenger seat. Martha was driving (rather well, for a Pureblood). Peter and Sirius were in the seats behind them (it was a van, so there were three rows), and James and Lily were in the very back.

"Sirius!" James whispered, trying not to jostle himself. Sirius rolled his eyes, and turned around in his seat.

"What is it Pr-" but Sirius stopped dead when he saw the happy expression on James's face and the position in which Lily was laying.

She was leaning heavily on James, her head resting on his shoulder. She was snoring lightly, and curled up onto him. Sirius's sudden lack of words caused the rest of the car to turn around to gaze in awe at the sight of James and Lily.

"Knew it was only a matter of time," Martha muttered to herself, chuckling.

"You owe me to galleons, Moony." Sirius told the lycanthrope in the front row. Sirius brushed a fake tear from his eyes, and whisperedin an overly-dramatic voice, "Our little Jamesies is growing up, Martie!"

"_Don't _call me Martie." Martha hissed from the front seat, causing Peter to chuckle. His beady little eyes were watering by the time the laughing fit was over.

"OI!" James yelled as quietly as he could. "Shut up, all of you! You'll wake her up!"

"Oooh, de_fensive_." Sirius laughed. "Awe, lighten up, mate. Lils sleeps like the dead."

Lily muttered something unintelligable in her sleep, and all four boys looked intrigued. Martha just rolled her eyes, and kept her head in front of the road. It wasn't so bloody fascinating listening to a girl talk in her sleep, yet here her 'sons' were, doing just that.

"What's she saying?" Peter whispered.

"Dunno," Sirius muttered. Then, he glanced evilly at James. "Prongsies could always try Occlumency."

"No." James and Martha said at the same time, and Martha found herself intensely proud of her son.

"No," James repeated. "Her dreams are private."

"Doesn't mean we can't hear what she's putting out there for all of us," Sirius muttered. "Come on, listen _harder! _I want to know what she's thinking."

As the drive continued, the four Marauders listened closely for Lily to say more. She muttered a few things, but nothing the Marauders could make out. It seemed that Martha was only one who distinctly heard the word 'James' escape the red-head's lips.

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><p><strong>Okay, Scotland begins the next day! Sorry the chapter's so short, but I wanted a little bit of fluff before the Siriusly long day ahead of them;) Pun totally intended;) So...yeah! Pretty please review! Love all of you who do:)<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


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